“Oh, Brynn, you fucked up. You fucked up big time.” My neck twists with his slap, the stinging ache of his palm brightening my cheek with pain. I can barely feel it over the burning heat already singing through me, and I laugh at him, spitting out the blood from biting my tongue. Pinching my cheeks between his fingers, he squeezes, spitting through his fangs, the shift starting to pull at him as he jerks my head around, tipping the chair until I’m concerned I’m going to be eating the floor again.
“How?! You whore, you’re already bonded? How else would they find you?” He snarls, voice crackling as fur sprouts from the back of his hands, claws piercing through the ends of his fingers.
But I’m not scared, they’re here, just like they promised. Something roars outside, something that isn’t a wolf, and I almost close my eyes and sob at the bear. Oberon must have come too, except… As a smaller brown-coated lump barrels through the wooden walls like they’re made of paper, my eyes widen.Fuck,it’s Butcher. Ishe taking his chance with the chaos?Except he doesn’t even bother me as a massive paw swipes at Brynn, the wolf soaring through the air and through the other side of the shack with a yelp. Then there's a giant of a man in front of me, pulling a knife from god knows where, and I fight, jumping back on the chair, crashing to the ground again as the battle rages on around us. Shotgun blasts sound out, and the ATV engine fires as the wheels kick up dirt. There’s too much going on, and in the panic, I don’t even try to scream for help, just thrash and fight and kick, my brain flying into survival mode, lashing out at the enemy next to me. Then, like sense has kicked in, I fill my lungs andhowl, the sound wailing through the area like a siren.
“Christ woman, stop fighting, I’m here to help.” Butcher snaps, the knife nicking me as he tries to saw at the rope around my wrist, but with all the wriggling, and now the slick blood, he can’t seem to catch where he needs. “Fucking blunt knife, I’d bebetter off chewing them open. Come on, we need you safe first.” Then he lifts the whole chair. The whole fucking chair, with me still attached like it's nothing more than a sack of potatoes, clinging to me as he sprints from the shack just in time for Brynn’s wolf to come snarling back through the same hole he’d made on his exit.What in the seven holy hellsisgoing on here?
I wish I knew, watching the complete and utter carnage around us whilst this mountainous man carries me away. Slipping free with the blood lubricating the way, I swing for Butcher, my fist crunching against his nose. Meeting the ground again, I get my first true look at the battlefield around me.
What. The. Fuck.
There must be at least twenty wolves here. In the air, there's some sort of giant eagle circling and screaming, occasionally diving into the fray to pick at wolves attacking the lion and polar bear at the far edge of the tree line. Prue, Nate, and Oberon are fighting as fiercely as though I were one of their own pack, though they’re being pushed back with the many on Brynn’s side. Next to me, said wolf has pounced at Butcher again as he tears into the grizzly bear we’ve seen. My mouth is dropping open, surveying the mess. Blood sprays as claws catch or teeth find purchase. I think I hear a very human yelp as the ATV comes flying at us, taking the rough terrain like it’s made to, and a hand catches me, yanking me into the back as it passes. Falling into the welcoming arms of my sweet Beta, his face sprayed with crimson, and shotgun propped next to him as Clay guns it towards the ranch. But everything’s… A little fuzzy. Goddess, it’s hot here, there’s too much going on, and I need…What do I need?Teddy’s fingers soothe through my tangled hair, his lips finding my temple.
“Clay, she’s burning up. And there’s fur.” He calls to the man in the front seat, but I can’t think past his warm coffee scent flowing through me and flooding my panties for him. Claygroans in the front seat, his own peppery perfume clouding my senses too. They smell so good together, maybe it wouldn’t be too much to have them again,just like I did this morning? Yesterday?Whatever, I just want to be pinned between them. A whine slips free, and a sharp bark comes from the front.
“Settle, Omega!” But there is no order in it, no power behind his words, just worry as I whimper and pout. Turning back to the Beta, I nip at the skin of his neck. His heavy panting against my ear means he likes it,right?Maybe he’ll let my Alpha mark him again too, so we can all be a pack for definite, attached forever…No. No, whyamI..? Fuck.This isn’t good. My choices are between here and there—trying to fuck Clay as he drives through the trees, dodging back and forth, or back into the fight where one of Brynn’s wolves might get to me. I need to go… Need to be away from them. A sharp noise cuts through our worry, and with a last kiss on Teddy’s cheek, I toss myself sideways against him, throwing him off balance as I tumble out of the back of the vehicle. Shifting as I hit the dirt, I yelp in pain, but I can’t be near them if I go into heat, my scent would lead our enemies right to us, and no matter how much I… No matter how much I love them, I won’t let them risk being killed because my heat is here. They’re only human, and Brynn’s right—they’re weaker, they wouldn’t stand a chance if any of the shifters came after me. The wolves, maybe. A good shotgun would take out a wolf shifter at close range,but what if itisButcher?
“SKYE!” Comes the scream from the ATV, the brake lights glaring through the trees as I take off with a mournful howl. If I can just lead the others away, I can give the rest a fighting chance. It’s me they are after anyway,right?All of this is because I’m an Omega and can shift. Cursing my grandmother for passing this to me, I howl again, the sound echoing through the woods, and the noise of the fight growing louder as I chargeback towards it, hoping that I’d be distracting for long enough to get Nat, Prue, and Obi out.
A pitch black wolf steps out of the trees, practically foaming at the mouth, coat damp with blood, pale gray eyes wild with hunger as he spots me. He takes a second, scenting the air before licking his lips and charging towards me.
Another wolf intercepts him, catching his throat in their lethal teeth and tearing it out, but the blood doesn’t stain half as bad on the new entry to this race. No, it doesn’t show up as clearly on the thick red and tan fur, his head cocking at me, ears pricked.
Fury.
My Cardinal, my Alpha, is here. And he’s not going to let me do this alone. The haze drifts back again, and instead of running towards him, I turn my tail and start a dance as old as time.
Fury
Atlas is breaking so many fucking laws on the way home. The truck flies down the tarmac, the pair of us clinging to handles and wheel as he jumps in and out of traffic, and I dread the sound of sirens ringing in our ears. Though the Goddess must smile down on us, we aren’t stopped, and only one driver gives us the finger when we cut them off on the exit. The city vanishes behind us, disappearing into the horizon like a phantom, and I swear I feel my fucking heart seizing from how fast it’s thundering. I don’t even check my phone as we fly down the highway, pulling it straight to my ear.
“What?” I demand, slamming my hand on the dashboard as Atlas swerves to avoid some old banger of a car, waving apologetically on the way past, “keep your fucking hands on the wheel.”
“Hello, Fury,” Comes a deep, thick voice from the other end, one I’ve heard once before, the day we picked our Omega up from the auctions.
“Talk, asshole, you better tell us where our Omega is right fucking now or —“
“I can help.” Butcher replies, his raspy voice quiet, “I’m here with Brynn, I think you know him… he’s got your girl. I don’t know exactly where we are, but if you can get that hawk woman up in the sky, I’ll leave her some sort of clue.”
“Eagle,” I snap, patience tested as we weave again, and I’m slammed against the door, arm throbbing at the new pains shooting through me. “Prue’s a fucking eagle.”
There’s a snort on the other end of the line, “Does it really fucking matter? You need to get here fast, your girls going into heat, and Brynn’s planning on bonding her when it hits. I can try to hold him off, but there’s gotta be maybe fifteen, twenty wolves here. I’m big, but I don’t stand a chance against that much. Some backup would be pretty good right about now.” His voice leaves the phone for a second, and I hear him chatting to someone near him, lying to them that he is talking to his boss about the payments going through before his breathing comes through the speaker again. “We ain’t got much time at all, Wolfman, she’s not going to hold on much longer. She’s coming around now, and I think Brynn's gonna be talking to her. Call your guys and get them on it. And don’t fucking shoot me, okay? I could do without more damn holes in me.”
The sound of the vacant tone in my ear lets me know he’s just hung up on me, and before Atlas can ask what’s up, I’ve got Theo on the line.
“I’ve just had a call from Butcher, he knows where she is. Says he’s on our side, but I don’t trust him. Get Prue flying, tell her to be careful, we don’t know what we’re looking at. Let Obi and Bex know to assume it's hot.” That’s all I need to say to have both packs on guard. Theo has his hand over the speaker, barking out orders better than most Alphas on the other side of the phone, and I can hear the revving of the ATV in the background, then Prue’s loud screeching call. A weight lifts off my shoulders as I delegate, and Theo picks up the slack on the other end.
I have no idea where Lucas is. He won’t pick up his phone, which means he’s probably already in the woods hunting, and might have even caught her scent, but there's almost nothing hecan do against that many wolves. There’s only Teddy’s confident voice on the other end, “Ready, Cardinal. We’ll see you soon, Fury, okay? We’ll get her back.” Then another damn tone. A growl rumbles up my throat, and Atlas almost turns before catching my deathly glare and locking his eyes on the road ahead of us, his shoulders rising like a kid who’s been told off. For once, I’m glad to be in the car with him, and not one of the others who would be questioning me until I bark.Fuck.Shaking my head, I cling to the handle above the door, watching everything pass until home comes into view and makes the forty-minute drive into twenty-five. Something that should rock me, knowing how Lucas comes home after high-speed crash incidents, but it’s crazy how an Omega can totally change your entire worldview until it centers right around them. I wonder if this is how Clay felt before with Teddy. Skye is getting pinned to the damn nest and bonded as soon as we have her safe back in the house.
Before Atlas has even pulled into the drive, I’ve leaped from the car and started yanking my clothes off, tossing them to the ground without a single fuck given. I need to get out there and look for her, before anyone—Oh fuck.
On the steps of the ranch house sits a petite woman, and usually I’d be over asking if she needs help. But I know this one, I’ve met her at almost every pack convention that I’ve been to, when she checks up on the leaders in her area. Maria perches like a princess in her kingdom, her eyes a peculiar shade of pale yellow flecked with silver set against her brown skin. Averting my eyes from hers, I approach cautiously, wondering how on earth we’ve managed to lose our Omega and attract the attention of the Shifter council in such a short time. Goddess, I need a vacation after this. Maybe I’ll book us a several-week-long cruise,which can’t be too much of an issue, right?The image of a damn jaguar diving into a pool on a lido deck bounces through my mind, and wolves tearing around deck corridors. Maybe not.Maybe camping, somewhere far away from literally anything,where we can come and go as we please?The Arctic Circle or something, hell, we can even BYOPB—Bring Your Own Polar Bear.
“Anthony Amberwood,” Maria purrs, standing from her throne and walking towards me. Maybe once the sway to her curvy hips would have pulled my eyes downwards, but there’s another woman on my mind now, and she’s got the leash on my Prince Albert. Maria seems to sense my unease with her, and the smirk on her face stretches out like the baring of teeth on her honey-furred wolf before she takes someone out at the throat. “Never thought I’d see you again. Seems your pups been causing some problems.” She nods towards Atlas, his big form wandering towards us. Sometimes I wish he’d do things on our time, not his own. I could use the backup now with the Council Queen here.
“Miss Maria!” He grins, bowing deeply, despite telling him countless times that it’s really unnecessary. “You’re not here for Skye, right? She’s not going anywhere.” Oh, sweet goddess above.
“I’m here to speak to you, actually,” I watch the panic fold Atlas over. For such a giant of a man, he’s so submissive, and I step up to him to rest a hand on his shoulder and feel my hackles rise as we stand together. “Relax, Cardinal, I’m only here to speak about what happened. I’m aware that Atlas shifted and killed a guard at the Citrine City Omega facility. I know you’re both desperate to find your Omega, but I already have an agent on it.”
